When a child learns to read and write, their world is transformed forever.

Ungelbah Daniel-Davila-News-Bulletin photo: Terri Metzler, a retired educator with 27 years of experience, says the desire to continue helping children become readers and writers is what inspired her to open The Reading Club in Los Lunas.

These fundamental tools of communication are essential skills that will follow and insure a child’s success into adulthood and throughout their life.

But for some children, turning letters into words and words into sentences is a daunting task that may require extra one-on-one attention and assistance from a trained educator.

Terri Metzler, who is a retired educator with 27 years of experience under her belt, says the desire to continue helping children become readers and writers is what inspired her to open The Reading Club in Los Lunas, where she is able to offer personalized reading instruction and tutoring to children.

She says she has always worked with elementary age students and think it is because of their excitement.

“When a young child realizes that they can read, it’s truly magical to watch them discover words and sounds and books and that they can write their own stories, too,” she said. “It’s a blessing to be a teacher I think.”

Metzler, a fifth generation teacher, retired from Albuquerque Public Schools in July but felt that her work in education was not complete yet.

“I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to stay connected and help those kids that need to be helped,” she said. “I think the teachers are amazing and do a phenomenal job, but they’re overloaded.”

If a young student is having difficulty learning to read, a parent can make an appointment for their child at The Reading Club where Metzler begins by getting to know the child and assess their needs.

From there she builds on the child’s strengths to increase their knowledge to “add to their feeling of success.”

She will also work on elements such as a writing, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary development. Mezler, who has endorsements in reading, early childhood and TESOL, says she is certified through eighth grade so even though her focus at The Reading Club is with beginning readers in kindergarten through third grade, she can work with older students as well.

“It’s really all about the magic of being important to someone at such a young age,” she says of her passion for teaching, “and knowing that you’ve made a difference in lots of kids’ lives.

“The earlier a child can feel successful or learn to read, the better they’ll do in school and the more success they’ll have, I think.”

Once she gets established, Metzler hopes to expand to include groups for preschoolers and a book club for older student readers.

An individualized lesson is 30 minutes long at a cost of $25. The Reading Club is located at 417 N.M. 314.

For more information visit the website at www.childrensreadingclub.wordpress.com, fan them on Facebook, or call 505-859-1998 to schedule an appointment.